Antisthenes was born into a wealthy family, and the philosophical ideas that he developed had their roots in the contradictions and injustices that he found embedded in society. He sought to build a foundation of ideas that would serve as a guiding principle toward a happier, more thoughtful way of life. Antisthenes believed that happiness was dependent on moralvirtue and that virtue could be instilled through teaching.

In teaching people how to be virtuous, Antisthenes demarcated two categories of objects: (1) external goods, embracing such elements as personal property, sensual pleasure, and other luxuries; and (2) internal goods, including the truth and knowledge of the soul. He advocated great restraint on the part of an individual tempted to take pleasure in external goods, and he encouraged his students to accept the burden of physical and mental pain that accompanies the soul’s search for its own inner wealth. To dramatize his method of teaching, Antisthenes, after the myth of Hercules, would stand on his platform of ideas and beliefs and “bark” at the folly and injustices of his society. The Cynic (Greek: Canine, or Doglike) school of philosophy long survived him.